County spends $50K more to help Ciccone
Communication lines between clerk, county opening
Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners are spending more money to try to prevent the clerk of courts office from tanking the county's finances.
At Thursday's regular meeting, commissioners approved a $50,000 payment to Canfield accounting firm Shroedel, Scullin and Bestic.
Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said the contract is intended to help embattled Mahoning County Clerk of Courts Michael P. Ciccone get his books in order, with the hope that his office might not compromise the county's state audit in December.
We're trying to help him reconcile until he can get bookkeeping issues in order," Traficanti said. "So hopefully, through us assisting him, we're able to get him into a situation where he's not falling behind, and it doesn't put the county at a disadvantage."
Last week, Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham outlined the major financial problems in the clerk's office.
The county received a clean opinion on its 2025 financial statements, but Meacham said several findings identify serious problems involving the clerk of courts.
Seven bank accounts controlled by Ciccone's office have not been consistently reconciled, and Meacham said he has received none of the required monthly reconciliations for 2026.
The county hired the outside accounting firm in April to complete outstanding bank reconciliations for November and December 2025 and help bring the clerk’s financial records up to date. The firm completed the year-end reconciliations, allowing the county to proceed with its annual audit, but work on the 2026 records remains unfinished.
That job cost the county $75,000.
Meacham said he understands the need to keep on top of the problem but is skeptical that more investment solves it.
"I'm not criticizing the commissioners, this is a matter of their judgment, and they're right he can't do it himself," Meacham said. "I just don't think this stops the hemorrhaging."
Ciccone earlier this year fired multiple employees who were both responsible for the office's bookkeeping and, officials said, capable of doing the job.
"Those are very critical positions to that office," Traficanti said. "It's not our responsibility to do this, but in a way it is…But this may be the answer until he gets someone in that bookkeeping position."
Meacham said he remains frustrated by the problems.
"I understand what they're trying to do, and I've said that there'll be an issue on Dec. 31, but I don't know if anything can be done to get him up to speed," he said. "The only way it'll be solved is if we get him out of there and we start rebuilding that staff."
Meacham lamented the costs of hiring the accounting firm.
"That is $75,000 spent on something the employees of that department should do themselves, and that's an expense the county has never had before," he said. "The county had to step in to do the work."
He said without the help of Shroedel, Scullin and Bestic, the county would not have made the progress it has with Ciccone's office, but it seems unlikely the firm will be able to make meaningful improvements in the clerk's financial management in the short- or long-term.
He said right now it's about trying to minimize the impact it has on the state's annual audit of the county.
"The only loophole through this whole thing is materiality ---- is it big enough to impact the organization as a whole?" he said. "If we go through this and there are still issues but they're not material to the overall financial health of the county, then the state auditor may pass us on that. But it still won't be right and still won't be up to snuff."
The state audit identified discrepancies in the clerk's accounting records, including balances understated by approximately $218,000 in one account and $3.5 million in another.
Those discrepancies were addressed through financial reporting adjustments and did not prevent the county from receiving a clean audit opinion for 2025.
However, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber’s office warned that failure to perform timely bank reconciliations increases the risk of inaccurate financial reporting and makes it more difficult to identify theft or fraud.
Traficanti said the county has made some inroads with Ciccone in recent weeks, despite more than a year of turmoil and Ciccone increasingly isolating himself from the rest of county government.
He said County Executive Director Hollie Musolino-Goodin has been able to open communications with Ciccone and that she and Management and Budget Director Jenn Pangio have been working with him to try to make progress at least on the finances.
"[Hollie]'s been getting some great cooperation with him," Traficanti said. "He's working with Hollie and with our office, so communication is open within the clerk."